Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was forced to temper his enthusiasm for Eurobonds during a visit to Germany today after being firmly warned off the subject in person by Chancellor Angela Merkel, the bonds’ most outspoken opponent.

Mr Clegg, who was meeting German MPs during a visit to Berlin, was briefly joined by Ms Merkel who informed him that she had gone to bed a four in the morning on Thursday after having blocked French President Francois Hollande’s plans to ensure that Eurobonds were at the top of the EU’s agenda.

“I think I was quite successful in that,” the German Chancellor is reported to have told Mr Clegg. According to insiders, the Deputy Prime Minister was left in no doubt that Eurobonds were not up for discussion in the higher echelons of the Berlin government.

At a press conference afterwards Mr Clegg expressed his admiration for the effciency of the German economy and said the lessons to be derived were essential for the “ re-wiring” of Britain.

He said he had sympathy for Germans’ reluctance to go on putting their hands in their pockets to save Europe But he added: “One way or another the stronger parts of the Eurozone need to provide direct of indirect support for its weaker members. If you do austerity alone, you get real resentment and extremism,” he insisted.